Tuesday, June 30, 2015

My dog Zelda has always been an inside dog, even when we let her outside she rushes back in when she's bored. But obviously she would need to go outside every-now and then. Typically we'd always open up the door to the back porch to let her out. She was not a dog that liked to wait, so she noticed when the old door could be pushed open with some force. So she'd run up to it and push it as hard she could with her paws, and run inside. We were able to deter her from doing it by pulling a kitchen drawer to block the door. A week or two later, she stopped trying to open the door herself.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Alice in Wonderland is something I've been debating on watching for many years. I heard of people who loved the film, and then I heard people say they really hated it. Tim Burton is behind this version of Alice in Wonderland and I admit, his overuse of gothic tones (and constant work with Johnny Depp) for his characters can be rather annoying.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

I'm more of a night owl because I can stay up late with no problem. Getting up in the morning is much tougher for me. Especially after a rough day, I can sleep for at least ten hours without a reason to get up.

King Alexander I of Greece died from a monkey bite. He received the wound trying to separate animals fighting in his estate. While he did receive some first-aid, he didn't think it was that serious. When his leg needed amputation, none of his doctors wanted the responsibility of it.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

At the local pizza place Mr. Gatti's they have a little arcade, and they usually have some kind of deal of getting a card to use in the arcade that's not much more than the buffet alone. I had seen this one from far away when I would get carry out so I've been curious to give it a try. It's basically what'd you expect and it's been forever since I've played that board game. Who won? Me, to Daisy's disappointment.

The Taipang Rebellion was a civil war in Southern China in the years 1850-1864. The war cost the world 20 million lives, the vast majority of whom were civilians not soldiers. At the time, the world lost about a tenth of its population in the Taipang Rebellion.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Awhile back my wife Daisy and I went to the local pizza place Mr. Gattis for dinner. Daisy usually just gets spaghetti and salad while she was there, but she saw some kind of new pizza creation (I forget its name) and she wanted to try it. Judging by her face, I think she thinks it tastes good.

The United States Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is the law of the land for every single state in our great country. I believe the ruling was 5-4 with Anthony Kennedy being the swing vote from the conservative judges. While I'm happy with the outcome, the four dissenters despite their own personal views shouldn't have ignored the power of the 14th amendment.

While Henry Ford was a legend for the automotive industry, his run for Senate was less succesful. President Woodrow Wilson asked Ford to run for Senate representing Michigan but lost to Republican Truman Newberry in a close election in 1918.

The flushing of unwanted fish is a not only a moral flaw, but for a part of Canada, a somewhat serious problem. Luckily for the fish, they survive going down the toilet and are now starting to flourish in Alberta. Officials are worried that so many goldfish (who are getting bigger in the new waters) could damage the delicate eco-system. They also advise against flushing dead fish as they might bring diseases and parasites to the area.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Myanmar (also known as Burma) has a sad history of military leaders ruling as dictators in the country. Their legislature rejected amendments that would have taken away some of the military's political power, and would have let Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi seek the presidency. She currently can't because her sons hold British passports. This is not the first case of injustice against Aung San Suu Kyi as her party won a super-majority in 1990 only for it to be ignored by the military junta.

To the Arctic is a movie I knew my wife Daisy wanted to see. She loves anything related to polar bears. I had it on my "to watch later" list, but Daisy insisted we watched it soon. It's a documentary movie about animals in the arctic with narration by Meryl Streep.

The Lego Group announced recently that they are working on new more environmental-friendly replacements for plastic to make legos with. Considering how popular they are, this is good news in reducing the use of plastic. While I'm not sure exactly what they'll use eventually, but I'm glad they are taking the huge effort to go green.

Polar Bears are believed to have emerged to the world about 150,000 years ago. DNA evidence has confirmed it had evolved from a type of brown bear species which had wandered north. Polar bears have mated with brown bears in recent years, and they're related closely enough to produce healthy offspring.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Due to the hatred in Dylann Roof's heart, his actions has caused many Southern states carrying the symbols of the old Confederate States of America to come under criticism. I was surprised to see our Governor (in SC) call for the confederate battle flag to be removed. Alabama's governor's took down their flags, many are getting rid of their confederate license plates, and many states are considering revising their current state flags. The "heritage not hate" defenders are either flat out lying or in a state of hopeless denial. The Confederate flag first represented a culture of traitors who wanted to leave this great country, and later became the symbol for racists in the South who rejected progress every step of the way.

While most people think algae isn't cool, seeing so much of it during our visit to Hatcher Gardens was cool to me. In person, it looked almost like part of a golf course. Knowing better, it was obvious that it was a pond full of algae.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Singing is one of the rare things anyone can do, but you have to be decent at it before anyone could say you know how to do it. I can't really sing, and Daisy's worse than I am. I used to take chorus for one class in middle school, and it didn't work out so well. I was never musically talented, so I wasn't too heartbroken to learn that I couldn't sing well.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

In my local city, there's a set of gardens that's quite famous locally. We actually visited for the first time in May. It was a nice cool spring day, and we needed some fresh air. I'm not the greatest person to appreciate plants and flowers, but I figured Daisy would enjoy the nature too.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (which was part of World War II), China had been losing badly to Japanese forces. In 1938, leaders in China flooded the Yellow River in hopes of stopping the Japanese army. While it had minor success in slowing the Japanese military, the flood was disastrous for years to come to those living around it. It was estimated that 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese citizens died because of it.

Friday, June 19, 2015

The original Rio was one of the first movies I remember watching with my wife Daisy when we first started dating. We had heard of Rio 2 last year, but I heard critical opinion had dropped from the first movie. I thought the first one was pretty darn good, so I figured the sequel couldn't be that bad.

Most of America has already heard about Dylann Roof, an extremely racist young man who entered a church in Charleston, SC and murdered nine African-Americans. This happened in my home state (though I live on the other side of SC) and our Governor Nikki Haley has suggested (though she's not a judge) the death penalty for Roof. I heard her say something about that one person doesn't define South Carolina but sparing his life would show that we are better than him. I've seen many hate-filled and angry people like Roof in South Carolina, and calling for the end of his life makes us no better than this sad excuse for a human being.

In 1807 the Napoleonic Wars were not looking too great for Portugal. Queen Maria I and the royal family fled Lisbon days before French forces invaded. They traveled all the way to Brazil, where the capital of Portugal was no longer in Portugal. The royal family ruled in Rio de Janeiro rather than Lisbon until 1821.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Iraq War started when I was 15, a good bit before I was interested in politics. Now about 12 years later, I see it as one of the biggest blunders in American history. In retrospect, I don't think Saddam Hussein was a threat to America, and our military involvement there has created greater evils to form than one mediocre dictator half-a-world away. A lot of the politicians who supported the war now regret it, and I hope they do. Over 4,800 American and other NATO soldiers lost their lives for little reason, and many more suffered wounds that will never heal.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

My mother took this photo earlier this spring of my niece Little K playing with my nephews Mr. K and Mr. C. They all seemed to be having fun. I remember going over my cousins' houses and having such fun there.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Nine years after Star Fox Command on Nintendo DS comes the first Star Fox game in a long time. Nintendo hasn't released a ton of information, but judging from the title it might be a prequel to the whole series. The new thing about this game seems to the be a ship that constantly transforms. From the classic arwing, land-master, and some other varieties I haven't seen before.

My mother took this photo this April at my nephew Mr. K's birthday party. They had thier church's building to host the event, and they did a pretty good job. My sister-in-law Amber and her mother are serving food. I bet they felt like the coolest mom and grandmother in the world.

While most of the world has two chambers (bicameral) for their legislatures, Nebraska is the only state in America to have neither a House or a Senate. In addition to being unicameral, every elected member is officially non-partisan.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Game of Thrones is something I didn't watch until last year, but I have not regretted starting the show. It's based on the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin with this season being mostly based on the books A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons. I was a little curious to see how this season turned out as making one season out of two books doesn't sound easy and surely there would be changes from the novels.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

I had really liked the first of the "new" Muppets movies starring Amy Adams and Jason Segel a few years ago. I had of last year's Muppets Most Wanted and I was a bit disappointed that Amy Adams would not be in it this time. Though the new muppet Walter is in the movie but with a smaller role.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

I wouldn't say this story is that sad, but I don't consider it funny in retrospect. In middle school, the whole gym was a basketball court, so basketball was a common sport we played. They would rarely do something serious as a tournament, and I lost in the first round. It was 2 vs. 2 and I got paired with the worst player in our class. It was like relying on a little girl to school Michael Jordan in a basketball game. I was never the greatest athlete but I literally was sweating like crazy trying to perform a miracle with only half a team.

The country of Latvia has had a tough history of independence. In 1918 they broke away from the Russian Empire. The Soviet Union occupied the country in 1940 until the Germans took over in 1941. In 1944 Soviet troops came back, and Latvia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

Friday, June 12, 2015

My wife and I have been watching Merlin and we've gotten through the first three seasons rather quickly. Season 2 had a great ending, and the story gets a bit better this time around. This one has Morgana take her first real steps into becoming a witch of dark magic.

From 1849-1850 there existed the proposed State of Deseret. It was founded by Mormons, and it spanned in the area of several modern day U.S. States in the Southwest. It was never recognized by the U.S. government, and it also combined theocracy (rule by religion) with democratic elements seen in the United States. The hypothetical state of Deseret ended when the United States took most of the land as the Utah Territory.

During the time of the Hawaiian monarchy, there was a crown princess named Victoria Kamamalu. The reason she had a English name like Victoria was because of the Hawaiian monarchy's close friendship to the British monarchy.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

I had never heard of The Art of Getting By until very recently. I don't even remember how I heard of it unless my wife Daisy suggested it and I had forgotten. Even my wife got a little confused because she told me Michelle Trachtenberg was in it, and it turned out she wasn't. I guess she thinking of Emma Roberts instead.

While most schools all around give homework to students, Finland's schools are known for their lack or zero amount of homework for a majority of their students. Along with other factors (like smaller class sizes) Finland has one of the highest high school graduation rates (and rates of students who make it to college) in the world.